Lore:Moricar

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Emperor Moricar
ON-npc-Emperor Moricar.jpg
Emperor Moricar
Race Reachman Gender Male
Born 2E 518
The Reach
Died 2E 564
Imperial City
Reign 2E 542-
2E 564
Previous Ruler Durcorach
Next Ruler Leovic
Resided in The Reach
Imperial City
Deadlands
Appears in ESO

Emperor Moricar (also called Moricar the Middling)[1] was the second emperor of the Reachman dynasty called the Longhouse Emperors, who ruled the Empire of Cyrodiil during the Interregnum. He was preceded by his father, Durcorach, and succeeded by his son, Leovic.[2]

Biography[edit]

Early Life[edit]

Moricar was born in 2E 518 to the Reachman chieftain Durcorach the Black Drake.[2] Most of Moricar's youth was spent in the Reach, so he was raised in the ancient traditions and culture of the Reachmen.[2][3] In 2E 533, Durcorach and his horde of Reachmen conquered Cyrodiil, and his father ascended to the Ruby Throne as the Emperor of Cyrodiil.[2][4] After the conquest, Durcorach appointed Imperial tutors to educate Moricar, including High Chancellor Abnur Tharn.[2][3] Moricar's Imperial education blunted his upbringing in the Reach, which allowed him to walk in both the Imperial and Reachfolk worlds in a way that his father never could.[2][3] By 2E 541, Moricar had become a vital advisor to his father.[2] In 2E 541,[5] or 2E 542,[6] Durcorach invaded High Rock, and he was killed in a battle outside of Daggerfall.[2][5][7] As soon as the news of Durcorach's death reached the Imperial City, Moricar declared himself Emperor.[2] Moricar's son, Leovic, was born in 2E 542.[2]

Emperor of Cyrodiil[edit]

Moricar's Coronation

As soon as Moricar ascended to the Ruby Throne, he had to decide the best course of action to bring High Rock under control in the aftermath of Durcorach's campaign in the province.[3] The Emperor debated with High Chancellor Abnur Tharn and Chief Councilor Tarnian Lovidicus about the risks and benefits of the different solutions.[3] He considered the risks and benefits, and when he reached a decision, the Emperor commanded Abnur Tharn to negotiate peace with High Rock, as he considered the invasion to be his father's quagmire and did not want it to become his own.[3] Moricar also ordered an aide to the Elder Council named Sentanus Marillin to prepare a decree recognizing the newly formed Daggerfall Covenant, which had formed in response to Durcorach's invasion.[3][7]

Moricar's Imperial Court was said to differ from that of his father.[3] Some had viewed Durcorach as a "savage playing at Emperor", who did not understand the procedures, protocols, and overall culture of the Imperial Court, while Moricar's Imperial education ensured that he not only understood the procedures and protocols of the Imperial Court but could also engage in the political nuances of the Imperial Court.[3][2] He could also demonstrate the ferocity and ruthlessness that made his father so feared, but Moricar's fear included a grudging respect.[3] His upbringing in the Reach combined with his Imperial education turned him into a strong and capable leader.[3]

In 2E 559, when Moricar saw the need to establish some degree of Imperial authority over the increasingly restless clans of the Reach, he chose to appoint a trusted kinfolk to the task.[4][8] He selected his kinsman, Caddach, and sent him to Markarth to act as the Imperial Governor of Markarth.[4][8] To reassure the clan chiefs that he did not intend to impose Imperial law in its entirety on the free Reachmen, Moricar limited Caddach's writ to Markarth and the lands immediately surrounding the city.[8] Caddach's role was to both rule the city and maintain peace between the restive Reachfolk Clans.[4][8]

At some point during his reign, when Leovic came back from a successful campaign against border raiders, Emperor Moricar, the Tharn family, the Elder Council, and great nobles were in the Great Hall to receive him. Moricar praised his son and decreed that he could name his reward. Prince Leovic didn't hesitate, walking right up to the Tharns and saying, "Your Majesty, I want the Chancellor's daughter." He spoke of High Chancellor Abnur Tharn's daughter Clivia, and though the Chancellor had many daughters, it was understood by all which one he meant.[9][2]

Four Ambitions[edit]

Before Durcorach conquered the Imperial Province, he entered into a fifty-year bargain with Mehrunes Dagon to ensure the success of his conquest and secure his rule for generations.[10][11][2] Upon Durcorach's death, Moricar inherited the bargain that his father had made with the Prince of Destruction.[11][12][2] Moricar also made his own bargain with Mehrunes Dagon.[12][11] The terms of the bargain were that Mehrunes Dagon would receive a renowned seer who could produce visions of how Lord Dagon might spread his cataclysms across Nirn and gain mastery of the mortal world, and in exchange, Moricar's royal line would gain power above all other mortals.[12] The preparations and rituals required to bring the Four Ambitions into being were carried out in secret by his hidden Daedric priesthood, the Order of the Waking Flame.[2] Moricar understood that the bargain with Mehrunes Dagon made it imperative to ensure the survival of his bloodline, so he took consorts and fathered a number of children.[12] He acknowledged some of the children, while others were unacknowledged, and some were not even aware that Moricar was their father.[12]

Emperor Moricar maintained a number of advisors, among them witchfolk from the Reach and mystics.[13] In 2E 556 or 2E 557, Disastrix Celdina, a member of the Order of the Waking Flame, came to the White-Gold Tower, and she was rewarded with a minor court appointment.[13] At times, Celdina seemed to be constantly by the Emperor's side, but she rarely offered him any counsel in front of the rest of the Imperial Court, and she would disappear for months at a time.[13] The true purpose of Celdina's presence in the Imperial Court was that Mehrunes Dagon appeared in a dream to Celdina and commanded her to become Moricar's consort, and the Prince of Destruction instructed her to bear a child for the Emperor.[14] Lord Dagon also commanded that no one was to know the truth about the child's parentage.[14] Celdina became pregnant with Moricar's daughter in 2E 563, and she disappeared from the court to give birth to Mairead, the fox of the Four Ambitions.[13][14] He did not trust Mehrunes Dagon to uphold his end of the bargain, and as a contingency, he prepared Mairead and the other Ambitions as weapons that could be used to banish Dagon.[15][16]

Moricar witnesses the empowerment of the Rams

In 2E 561, Moricar and Leovic spent much of their time in the Imperial Palace preparing sacrifices to Mehrunes Dagon with rituals that would finally see the creation of the long-promised Daedric Weapons.[2][17] During this time, he witnessed the sacrifices of Ramin Brolus and Lestra Brolus by Councilor Ertus Vandacia and the empowerment of Calia and Destron, the Rams of the Four Ambitions.[17] In 2E 562, Moricar emerged, and he began planning an invasion of Western Skyrim.[2]

Invasion of Western Skyrim[edit]

In 2E 563, Emperor Moricar led his forces out of the Reach and into High King Svargrim's territory.[2][1] Moricar and the Imperial Army met no resistance until they approached the gates of Solitude.[2] At Solitude, High King Svargrim's army fell upon Moricar's forces and routed them in a single battle.[2][1] Moricar survived and managed to make it back to the Imperial City, but he was gravely wounded.[2] Moricar never fully recovered from his injuries, despite the best efforts of both Imperial and Reachfolk healers.[2] He succumbed to his injuries in 2E 564, and he was succeeded by his son Leovic.[2] Upon his death, Moricar's soul was sent to the Deadlands.[18]

See Also[edit]

Books[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • Emperor Moricar's soul in the Deadlands

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c The Wolf of Solitude — Pjetr the Skald, of the Bards College
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Secret History of the Longhouse Emperors — Councilor Vandacia
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Audiences with the Longhouse Emperors — Sentanus Marillin, aide to the Elder Council
  4. ^ a b c d History of Markarth: A Story in Stone — Consul Cardea, the Ard's Administrator
  5. ^ a b Triumphs of a Monarch, Ch. 3 — His Majesty King Emeric
  6. ^ The Royal House of King Eamond — Seneschal Derric Andras of Castle Evermore
  7. ^ a b Guide to the Daggerfall Covenant
  8. ^ a b c d Report on the Despot of Markarth — Lady Nilene Devierin of Stormhaven
  9. ^ Meet the Character - Clivia Tharn — Magus-General Septima Tharn
  10. ^ A Deal is Struck
  11. ^ a b c Xynaa's Book of Contracts — Xynaa
  12. ^ a b c d e Secrets of Moricar the Inheritor — Devastator Irenian Dast
  13. ^ a b c d Meet the Character - Sister Celdina — Captain Rian Liore
  14. ^ a b c Letter to the High Priest — Disastrix Celdina
  15. ^ Emperor Moricar's dialogue in ESO: The Deadlands
  16. ^ Partially Hidden Journal — Moricar
  17. ^ a b Events of Weapons of Destruction in ESO: Blackwood
  18. ^ Events of The Last Ambition in ESO: The Deadlands
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